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Faculty Works, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation
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Research articles, presentations, and other scholarship
Recent Submissions
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Emerging Tuberculosis Pathogen Hijacks Social Communication Behavior in the Group-Living Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo)
(American Society for Microbiology, 2016-05)An emerging Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) pathogen, M. mungi, infects wild banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) in Northern Botswana, causing significant mortality. This MTC pathogen did not appear to be transmitted ... -
Effects of climate change and anthropogenic modification on a disturbance-dependent species in a large riverine system
(Ecological Society of America, 2017-01)Humans have altered nearly every natural disturbance regime on the planet through climate and land-use change, and in many instances, these processes may have interacting effects. For example, projected shifts in temperature ... -
Behavioral response of white-tailed deer to coyote predation risk
(Ecological Society of America, 2018-03)Behavioral responses of prey to predation risk can affect lower trophic levels. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; hereafter deer) increase vigilance in response to coyote (Canis latrans) presence, but vigilance ... -
Fitness landscapes and life-table response experiments predict the importance of local areas to population dynamics
(Ecological Society of America, 2017-07)Animal resource requirements differ among life-history stages, and thus, habitat is most appropriately thought of as specific to a particular life stage. Accordingly, different habitats may vary in their significance as ... -
Integrating multiple genetic detection methods to estimate population density of social and territorial carnivores
(Ecological Society of America, 2018-10)Spatial capture-recapture models can produce unbiased estimates of population density, but sparse detection data often plague studies of social and territorial carnivores. Integrating multiple types of detection data can ... -
Application of Bayesian robust design model to assess the impacts of a hurricane on shorebird demography
(Ecological Society of America, 2018-08)The increasing use of Bayesian inference in population demography requires rapid advancements in modeling frameworks to approach the rigor and flexibility of the current suite of maximum-likelihood models. We developed an ... -
Fish, Fishing, and Ecosystem Services and Dysfunctions in the New River
(New River Symposium, 2019-04-12)This paper reviews the selected ecosystem services provided by New River to riverside communities. I also highlight threats to sustaining these services and dysfunctions and possibilities for restoration. A framework of ... -
Remaining populations of an upland stream fish persist in refugia defined by habitat features at multiple scales
(Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2018-12-17)Aim: Conserving stream biota could require strategies that preserve habitats conveying resistance to ecological impacts of changing land use and climate. Retrospective analyses of species’ responses to anthropogenic ... -
Feeding ecological knowledge: the underutilised power of faecal DNA approaches for carnivore diet analysis
(Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2018-12-22)Accurate analyses of the diets of predators are key to understand trophic interactions and defining conservation strategies. Diets are commonly assessed through analysis of non-invasively collected scats, and the use of ... -
Observations at backyard bird feeders influence the emotions and actions of people that feed birds
(British Ecological Society, 2019-03-25)1. Backyard bird feeding is one of the most common ways people engage with wildlife in many parts of the world. Given its scale, it can have profound consequences for the ecology of feeder birds and their behaviour. While ... -
A case for conserving common species
(PLOS, 2018-02-07)I grew up in a country where fish were, first and foremost, food. At the age of nine or so, I started following my dad and uncle to nearby rivers to fish on weekends, and soon I learned to make my own tackle and go back ... -
Quantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities
(2018-09-25)Changing climate will impact species' ranges only when environmental variability directly impacts the demography of local populations. However, measurement of demographic responses to climate change has largely been limited ... -
Quantitative evidence for the effects of multiple drivers on continental-scale amphibian declines
(Springer Nature, 2016-05-23)Since amphibian declines were first proposed as a global phenomenon over a quarter century ago, the conservation community has made little progress in halting or reversing these trends. The early search for a "smoking gun" ... -
Long‐term monitoring of ocelot densities in Belize
(The Wildlife Society, 2019-01)Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) are listed as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list of Threatened Species, yet we lack knowledge on basic demographic parameters across much of the ... -
Modelling the Species Distribution of Flat-Headed Cats (Prionailurus planiceps), an Endangered South-East Asian Small Felid
(PLOS, 2010-03-17)Background The flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps) is one of the world's least known, highly threatened felids with a distribution restricted to tropical lowland rainforests in Peninsular Thailand/Malaysia, Borneo ... -
Hydrometeorology and flood pulse dynamics drive diarrheal disease outbreaks and increase vulnerability to climate change in surface-water-dependent populations: A retrospective analysis
(PLOS, 2018-11-08)Background The impacts of climate change on surface water, waterborne disease, and human health remain a growing area of concern, particularly in Africa, where diarrheal disease is one of the most important health threats ... -
Population Status of a Cryptic Top Predator: An Island-Wide Assessment of Tigers in Sumatran Rainforests
(PLOS, 2011-11-02)Large carnivores living in tropical rainforests are under immense pressure from the rapid conversion of their habitat. In response, millions of dollars are spent on conserving these species. However, the cost-effectiveness ... -
Tigers Need Cover: Multi-Scale Occupancy Study of the Big Cat in Sumatran Forest and Plantation Landscapes
(PLOS, 2012-01-23)The critically endangered Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae Pocock, 1929) is generally known as a forest-dependent animal. With large-scale conversion of forests into plantations, however, it is crucial for restoration ... -
Buffalo, Bush Meat, and the Zoonotic Threat of Brucellosis in Botswana
(PLOS, 2012-03-08)Background Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of global importance infecting humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Little is known about the epidemiology and persistence of brucellosis in wildlife in Southern Africa, ... -
Serum Immune-Related Proteins are Differentially Expressed during Hibernation in the American Black Bear
(PLOS, 2013-06-25)Hibernation is an adaptation to conserve energy in the face of extreme environmental conditions and low food availability that has risen in several animal phyla. This phenomenon is characterized by reduced metabolic rate ...
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